Episodes
Friday Jul 03, 2015
Will Creed be the Next Rocky? Or the Next Rocky V?
Friday Jul 03, 2015
Friday Jul 03, 2015
by Jim Shearer
This week my good friend (and excellent drummer) Steve tweeted me a link prefaced with one single word: CREED.
Nine years ago our band made a music video for a song called “Apollo Creed.” I assumed he was just reminiscing, but when I clicked on the link I noticed a movie trailer. I smiled, thinking that Steve ironically sent me a link for a documentary on the band Creed.
Ha, good one Steve!
It probably took me a good four seconds to realize that the shirtless man I originally thought was Scott Stapp was actor Michael B. Jordan, who with a mustache looks a lot like—oh, I get it now—APOLLO CREED!
My initial reaction was giddy excitement! I even liked how the trailer teased us, not revealing Rocky until its second half.
After the initial glow, my excitement turned to fear: What was Sylvester Stallone thinking?!?
Rocky Balboa, the sixth, and what we thought was the final installment of the series, was a joyous finale. It was a walk-off homer, a microphone drop, another Stallone comeback when people counted him out.
I met Sly a few years ago and told him that he ended the series beautifully (a film he wrote and directed). He revealed it was the movie that he was most proud of in his career.
So why put that in jeopardy?
After watching the Creed trailer on repeat it didn’t reek of, but it sure did smell like Rocky V: Talented yet unproven boxer shows up at Rocky’s doorstep in search of a cornerman with some old-school Philly grit…and a pair of red-white-and-blue boxing trunks.
Rocky V is widely considered to be the weak link in the Rocky series. Some fans don’t even acknowledge its existence. Speaking of which, when Stallone brought Rocky back 16 years later, besides his urban dwelling and one mention of the phrase “home team,” Rocky V appears to have never happened at all, especially that career-ending brain injury that prevented Rocky from ever boxing again.
Like Rocky V, Creed was not directed by Stallone—or even written by him. Ryan Coogle (Fruitvale Station) co-wrote and directed, a man who wasn’t even alive when the first Rocky movie came out. (Come to think of it, he wasn’t even alive when the fourth Rocky movie came out.)
It also saddens me that Pauly (Burt Young), a fixture in every Rocky movie, is not going to be part of this one. Looking over Creed’s IMDb page, it doesn’t look like Rocky Jr., Duke, Little Marie, Steps, Spider Rico or music from Bill Conti will make an appearance either.
I’m rationalizing that the franchise’s trademark supporting cast of characters are absent, because the movie isn’t about Rocky, it’s about Apollo Creed’s son, Adonis, and Rocky is the lovable sideman this time around.
That should make me feel better, right?
And what’s all this Rocky V nonsense going through my head? Tommy Morrison (rest in peace) was a really good boxer who wasn’t very good at acting; Michael B. Jordan is a really good actor who also looks like a really good boxer. His role in Friday Night Lights alone shows his talent in portraying a tortured athlete.
Yes, the franchise is precious to me, but I’d buy a movie ticket to see Rocky eat cheesesteaks for two hours. And keep in mind everything I’m basing my opinion on is from a movie trailer less than three minutes long.
Here are some other thoughts:
- Mighty Mick’s Boxing Gym is looking, dare I say, “palatial” these days. I’m assuming since Rocky didn’t train there for his fight with Mason “The Line” Dixon, he used his payday to remodel it, after giving a cut to charity, of course.
- Apollo’s wife Mary Anne Creed—played by Phylicia Rashad—makes her first appearance since Rocky IV. The last time we saw her Rashad was Mrs. Huxtable on The Cosby Show and Drago’s wife (Brigitte Nielsen) was expressing interest in being her friend. I wonder how that turned out?
- Carl Weathers (aka Apollo Creed) didn’t allow his likeness to be shown in Rocky Balboa. In the trailer we see a picture of him on the wall of Rocky’s restaurant. Obviously an agreement was reached; if not the dialogue could’ve gone something like this:
How come you don’t have any pictures of Apollo?
What’s it to you?
I’m his son.
- The heather-gray-on-heather-gray combo hasn’t been in style for 40 years, and the only person who can pull it off is Rocky. It wouldn’t cheapen the training scenes for anyone if Adonis was wearing a bright orange Dri-Fit track jacket, would it?
- Every time I watch Rocky II I try to justify how a crowd of children were able to leave the watchful eye of their parents and chase Rocky down the streets of downtown Philly. Now I have to do the same with a pack of Freestyle Motorcycles and ATVs.
- Wait, is Michael B. Jordan wearing a Michael Jordan sweatshirt?
- Adonis cites Rocky’s ra-ra quote from the last film: “A great fighter once said, ‘It ain’t about how hard you can hit; it’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.’” How would he know that? Rocky told that to his son in private (albeit on a public street corner). Are you telling me he gave the same advice twice? Doesn’t that then cheapen the special father/son moment? It’s like the plot line in—oh no—Rocky V.
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